The University has entered another cycle of fiscal uncertainty. The Regents and the UC President have directed each Chancellor to achieve a specific budget reduction target before the start of the new fiscal year. Following extensive consultation with academic leadership on reduction strategies and administrative efficiencies while preserving the integrity of emerging interdisciplinary collaborations, your Chancellor announces her decision to merge the Department of Digital Arts currently residing in the School of Fine Arts, into the existing Department of Computer Science which is in the School of Engineering. The merged departments, renamed the Department of Media Technologies and Computer Sciences, will be the largest academic department in the School of Engineering.

You have served as Management Services Officer for the former Department of Computer Science for seven years. Your position as the Chief Administrative Officer for the newly structured department will require that you establish administrative and business systems and practices that will foster interdisciplinary research and teaching in an environment of significant growth in technology and innovation. There is great opportunity for collaboration with industry and potential benefits from successful technology transfer. Thus, your Chair expects you and your staff to be prepared for the administrative and technical support demands this dynamic group of faculty will create.

Two academic departments are merging. As the Chief Administrative Officer, you are asked to assume responsibility for merging the administrative staffs of the two departments while creating a sound environment for internal controls and financial accountability. Under the restructuring plan, the newly created department will foster interdisciplinary research and teaching in an environment of significant growth in technological innovation. Thus, some growth is expected in faculty and students; any modest growth in staff and administrative budgets must be supported by extramural funds. You are expected to develop a “best in class” departmental organization to support the new department’s teaching, research and public service missions. Using the tools and concepts from today’s presentations, apply the key components of internal control to identify and address key issues for a successful merger.

Before the departments merged, a grant renewal proposal was submitted to the NSF. This has been awarded and includes a change of principal investigator (PI) from the original award. Issues such as space commitments, PI eligibility, agency renewal processes and rules, conflicts of interest, and budget overdrafts need to be identified and addressed. Explore these and recommend appropriate steps.

As Chief Administrative Officer, you have initiated a recruitment for a permanent Principal Analyst I who will be the financial and resource manger of the new department. While recruitment is underway, the current senior analyst of one of the old departments (Computer Science) is acting in this capacity. She and an external candidate have been identified as finalists for the permanent position. Review the information provided to identify the issues, risks, consequences, and costs of hiring one candidate over the other.

Two situations came to your attention that may—or may not—constitute fraud, waste, and/or abuse. Using the facts presented, create a fact pattern, identify consequences and their costs, establish options for interventions and identify process improvements.